


It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

by Timewormbloom



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Alyss has a dagger, F/M, Fluff, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:02:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23338834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Timewormbloom/pseuds/Timewormbloom
Summary: Will has been running on too little sleep for too long, and he wanted nothing more than to see his girlfriend. Except, the guards at Castle Redmond look a little too much like the goons who were chasing him. So naturally, he decides to sneak in. But he's not as sneaky as he usually is, so he leaves a wake of panicked chaos behind him.
Relationships: Will Treaty/Alyss Mainwaring
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21
Collections: RA Fanfiction Challenge #2





	It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you again to Aseihk for putting this all together! I'm excited to see what everyone else put! I filled up an entire page in a notebook trying to figure out what I wanted to do for this fic, and I'm happy with what I ended up with.

Will blearily stared at the peaks of Castle Redmond. They were illuminated by the full moon. The moon was a familiar sight, seeing how Will had barely slept in the past week. Tug was better off, so at least he wasn’t in too much danger of falling off his horse. Will could tell that he was just as impatient as he was to get home, so he gave in a tore his eyes away from the view in favor of getting home. 

\--

He leaned against the stable wall and blearily put away all of his riding equipment. His camping equipment was designed to withstand any sort of weather, so it could wait until morning when he could actually neatly put stuff away. He lumbered into his cabin and plopped down at the table. There was a plate covered with a cloth placed on the table. He picked up the note tacked onto the top. The letters swam in front of his eyes, but he could pick out a few keywords and the signatures at the bottom. It was Alyss’s flowy script and Jenny’s practical blocking saying something about a welcome home meal. He plucked the covering off and devoured the food they’d left him. 

He dropped the plate off in his kitchen to give back to Jenny in the morning. Maybe he could see Alyss when he got there. He wished he could see her right now, he hadn’t seen her for a month. His face dropped. He really wanted to see Alyss again, but she was all the way back at the castle. Maybe he could see her at the castle? He could do that, he didn’t need sleep that much, anyway. 

\--

Will stared at the guards from the shadows. His vision swam for the umpteenth time that night, and all of a sudden all he could see was enemies blocking his way. Their uniforms were even similar to the ones that the goons who had been trying to stab him all week wore. He staggered back into the shadows and started eyeing the walls for a weak spot he could use to sneak in. He circled the castle until a crack of light drew his attention. 

A servant stepped out with a bucket laden with something Will didn’t care about. They closed the door behind them, but Will had enough time to crack it open and slip inside. Or so he thought. He didn’t notice the servant dropping the bucket and running for the guards to tell them about the potential threat running around the halls.

\--

Will stalked through the halls to the wing that housed the Courtier Services. It was located next to the king’s office, so security was tight. His vision was starting to black at this point, but his faithful muscle memory didn’t let him down. When he managed to drag himself back into coherency, he was halfway through Alyss’s door. He softly closed the door and immediately slumped to the ground. 

“Hello? Who’s there?” Alyss called. She could faintly see someone sprawled out on the ground. The sound of her door opening had jolted her awake. Her fingers curled around the hilt of her dagger and she slowly moved to her feet. She slid around the edges of the room until she was between them and the door. They appeared to be either asleep or unconscious, so Alyss decided to sneak out and alert the guards.

Until a soft ray of light illuminated the mysterious figure’s back, and Alyss recognized the infamous Ranger cloak. She loosened her grip on her weapon and rushed to their side. She tilted their head up until she could clearly see her boyfriend’s face. She panicked and rolled him over. Thankfully, he was still breathing. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was the large dark bags under his eyes. 

“Will? Are you okay?” He didn’t seem like he was going to drop dead, but Alyss decided to check him over for injuries anyways. 

“Lyss?” Will mumbled. He dragged his eyes open and blinked up at her with a dopey grin. “I’m fine, I just couldn’t wait to see you.”

“You really scared me, you idiot,” Alyss scolded lightly. She eased him to his feet and guided him to the sofa in the corner of her room. Will was out like a light the second she tipped him forward to set him down. She dragged his feet up and pulled off his cloak, boots, and weapons. Luckily she kept a few spare blankets for occasions like this. “Sleep well.”

\--

Will could tell that something was off. He felt the thick material of his regular clothes, not the clothes he slept in when not on a mission. And he was definitely not on his bed back in the cabin. He was fairly certain that he was supposed to be back home by now, so where was he? He cracked his eyes open. 

“Alyss?” Will asked out loud. He recognized his girlfriend’s bedroom and his girlfriend staring him in the face from her bed. He kicked the blanket off and stood up. 

“Good, you’re up. What do you remember from last night?” Alyss met him in the middle of the room and ran her fingers through his hair. 

“Umm, I put Tug in the stables and ate something. Then I realized that I wanted to see you, and it’s black from there.” Will scratched his head. He was getting a little nervous, for all he knew he overthrew a small government. 

“Okay, then. Let’s try and retrace your steps. But your shoes back on, I’ll get dressed and we can go.” Will nodded and grabbed his gear and his clothes, respectfully not turning around while Alyss stepped behind a screen to change into her uniform. She poked him in the back when she was done and grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together. They stepped back out into the hallway together. 

The first thing they noticed was the extra guards. It seemed like the guard population had doubled overnight, and they were all patrolling the halls. They were spotted pretty quick, and a guard that had some sort of badge on his chest approached them.

“Lady Alyss, please stay in your room. There was an intruder last night, and we’re not sure if the castle is secure,” They ordered respectfully with a small bow. 

“Intruder?” The guard jumped when Will spoke up. He hadn’t seen Will, even though he was standing right next to Alyss. 

“Yes, Ranger Will. They were spotted sneaking into the castle while a servant was throwing out some waste. Several other guards also reported seeing glimpses of a shadowy figure heading to the king’s office.” 

“Continue with the search. I’ll take a look around myself,” Will told the man as he led Alyss back to her room. 

“I think I know what I did last night,” Will admitted as soon as the door was closed. 

“I figured that out too. So, what do we do now?” Alyss mused as she sat down. 

“I don’t think I can tell them that it was probably just sleep-deprived me wanting to see you. Crowley would send me a sarcastic letter about ruining the Ranger Corps’ reputation,” Will sighed. 

“Here’s what I’m thinking. You slip out the window and run out of the castle where guards can see you, and I’ll tell the guards that you figured out what happened and are going to deal with it. Baron Arald needs to know what actually happened, but we can keep this quiet,” Alyss assured him. Will gave her a grateful smile and made his way over to the window. He flung his legs over the ledge and started to lower himself down. 

Alyss walked over to the ledge, leaned over, and gave Will one last kiss before he started to fly down the wall. She watched him sprint through the castle. She could see passing guards stopping to watch him, and a few even started to trail after him. She gave the scene a smirk before heading back to the hallway. Time to put her acting skills to the test.

**Author's Note:**

> Alyss: Who’s this idiot?  
> Alyss: Wait that’s my idiot


End file.
